Why You Need to Worry About the Pollen Vortex

Prepare for your allergy symptoms to hit you hard and fast.

As if allergies didn't suck already, people are saying that a "pollen vortex" could irritate your allergy symptoms more than usual over the next few weeks. Now to be clear, this phenomenon isn't an actual thing—it's more of a made-up term used to describe the recent high pollen counts, says Estelle Levetin, Ph.D., a professor and chair of biological science at the University of Tulsa. But it is true that you may experience harsher allergies soon.

Due to the extended winter season, certain tree species like cedar—which normally pollinate in February—have delayed releasing pollen until now when other late-blooming trees are also sending more spores into the air, says Levetin. And you can't forget that grass will begin pollinating in a month or so. This means there will be a lot of overlapping pollination (read: bloodshot eyes and runny noses galore)—more so than in recent years.

As always, people may experience different levels of allergy symptoms depending on the amount of foliage in their area, says Stanley Fineman, M.D., the former president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. However, if you live in a tree-heavy zone, you may find yourself sneezing a lot longer than usual this year, Fineman adds.